Parker Passes Takam Test – Joseph Parker versus Carlos Takam at the Vodafone Events Center in Manukau City, New Zealand kicks off the day, as results are coming in for the first of today’s big heavyweight fights.

Parker entered the fight facing his toughest test to date. Takam is ranked #8 in the heavyweight division by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and his overall 33-2-1 record includes a 2014 showdown with Alexander Povetkin in Russia where he gave the Russian all he could handle before fading and getting knocked out. He owns solid wins over veterans Michael Grant and Tony Thompson and he has logged 25 knockouts in his eleven year career. At 35 years old, Takam turned professional when Parker was just thirteen years old.

Takam derserves credit for providing the expected test, especially in the early going. Despite weighing a few pounds more than Parker, Takam used a lot of lateral movement to stay ahead of Parker. Parker hit the canvas in round two but the fall was called a slip.

Parker stayed composed as he took the best of Takam and in the later rounds when the Frenchman appeared to tire, Parker did a much better job of finding Takam. In the end, Parker was able to manage the twelve round fight by being more consistent, as Takam did well when he pressured Parker but he did not do enough of it. In the final round when it was still potentially anybody’s fight, Takam’s last burst proved too little too late.

In the end, the judges had the fight for Parker 116-112,116,112 and 115-113. The fight was considered an eliminator for the IBF heavyweight title held by Anthony Joshua and Parker now moves to a strong 19-0 overall as a professional. Joshua defends his belt at the end of June when he faces Dominic Breazeale and Parker would be considered the mandatory challenger for the winner of that fight.

The fight was the main event of a six fight card promoted by Duco Events, and the fights aired on Main Event in Australia and on SKY channels in New Zealand and the U.K.